Asia

As an organization dedicated to alleviating poverty by economically strengthening women in developing countries, ICRW recognizes the potential and successes of the world’s women every day.

But come March 8, ICRW will join the global community in a special, shared celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women. As part of International Women’s Day, ICRW will participate in and host a variety of events in New York, Washington, D.C., and Mumbai, India.

"This is a particularly exciting year to mark International Women’s Day," said ICRW Chief Operating Officer Sarah Degnan Kambou, "because the world increasingly realizes the transformative role women play in helping to build stable economies and healthy nations."

ICRW experts will be on hand March 1-12 at the United Nations’ annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) gathering in New York, where participants evaluate progress on gender equality and set global standards for women’s advancement.

Outgoing ICRW President Geeta Rao Gupta will participate as one of five public delegates selected by the State Department to join the U.S. delegation attending the two-week event. In that capacity, Rao Gupta is scheduled to represent ICRW at a variety of high-level meetings and moderate a discussion on how to improve the national responses to AIDS for women and girls. Read the press release.

Among ICRW’s other roles at CSW will be a March 11 discussion about how innovation can transform women’s lives in the developing world. The presentation will be lead by expert Anju Malhotra, ICRW’s vice president of research, innovation and impact.

On International Women’s Day, ICRW’s Asia Regional Office in New Delhi will launch a program in Mumbai that uses India’s popular sport of cricket to teach boys how to be respectful towards women and, in turn, help reduce violence against women. The effort is endorsed by Sachin Tendulkar, a legendary cricket player in India.

In Washington, D.C., Malhotra will once again participate in a discussion about innovation’s role in helping to empower women and create more equitable societies. She’ll be joined by other panelists as part of the 2010 Leadership Forum – an annual ICRW event on International Women’s Day.

Following the forum, ICRW will honor Bill Roedy, chairman and chief executive of MTV Networks International, during its annual fundraiser. ICRW chose Roedy for its Champions for Change Innovation Award because of his leadership in a global public education campaign that strives to reduce stigma associated with HIV and AIDS.

"The campaign has impacted young people worldwide and spurred more conversation about sexuality, risk and HIV," Degnan Kambou said. "It’s also helped spotlight something we’ve known for quite a while at ICRW – that HIV-positive girls and women are disproportionately affected by stigma and tend to have a tougher time mitigating the consequences of it."